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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-02-14 CPC MINCITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 Present: Robert Gag, chair person, Gregg Carlsen, Mike Dahlquist, David Junker, David Peroceschi, Paul Teske, Jerry Turnquist and Darwin Wald Others: Community Development Director Steve Russell Absent: Dave Middleton Mr. Gag called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Approval of minutes: Mr. Wald, seconded by Mr. Dahlquist, moved approval of the minutes of January 10, 2005, as submitted. Motion passed unanimously. Case No. V/04-93 A variance to the front yard setback (30 feet required, 0 feet requested) and side yard setback (5 feet required, 3 feet requested) for construction of a carport and variance to the accessory building size regulations (120 feet allowed, 396 feet requested) for construction of a covered deck at 308 E. Poplar St. in the RA, Single Family Residential District. John Buettner, applicant. This case was continued from the Dec. 13, 2004, meeting. Mr. Buettner was present. As a result of the Planning Commission's required survey, Mr. Buettner said he is withdrawing his request for the variance for the carport. The survey determined the carport is partially on City property. The carport will be removed in the spring, he said. He said he is still requesting a variance for the roofed deck. He pointed out the deck was there when he purchased the property. He stated he had put a roof over the deck to make it more usable; the sides were constructed, he said, to help stabilize the structure. He pointed out the deck is not obstructing anyone's view or blocking any access. The residents of 1710 N. Broadway, neighboring property owners, asked what the applicant was proposing to do. Mr. Buettner showed photos of the property and what he planned. The neighbors had no other questions. Mr. Peroceschi questioned the setback requirements. Mr. Russell stated that because this is a corner lot, two street setbacks are required. Mr. Junker said he liked the fact that the carport will be removed, but expressed a concern about the size of the accessory building. Mr. Dahlquist pointed out the Planning Commission has been consistent in following the ordinance regarding the size of accessory buildings, noting that this request is for a structure three times what is allowable. Mr. Carlsen expressed a concern about the structural integrity of the deck. Mr. Teske noted the applicant will still need a variance for an eave overhang on the house even if the carport is removed. He asked how much of a variance would be needed for the overhang; Mr. Russell stated 4' would be needed. 0 CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 Mr. Turnquist moved to grant a 4' variance for the overhang of the house, with the condition that the existing carport be removed. Mr. Carlsen seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dahlquist moved to denial the requested variance for the accessory building size. Mr. Junker seconded the motion to deny; motion passed unanimously. Case No. SUP/05-01 A special use permit for a Type II Home Occupation Permit for a camera repair business from a residence at 820 W. Pine St. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Carl Quist, applicant. Mr. Quist was present. He stated he plans to improve an existing deck on his house, converting it to a four-season porch, and use that space for his business. He said he anticipates about 20 clients a week. The driveway at his home is 36' deep. He stated he also will advise clients not to park on Pine Street, but to use Williams Street as an alternative. He stated he does not receive a lot of spontaneous business as he specializes in older equipment. There will be no signage. Mr. Junker asked if he planned to be open on weekends; Mr. Quist responded that he did not plan to do business on the weekends. Neale Povey, 904 W. Pine St., spoke against the request, expressing a concern about decreased property valuation and a dilution of the quality of the primarily residential neighborhood. Mr. Junker moved approval of the special use permit as conditioned, with the additional condition limiting the operation of the business to Monday through Friday. Mr. Wald seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Case No. V/05-03 A variance to the street setback (30 feet required, 17.5 and 22 feet requested) for construction of an addition at 1924 N. First St. in the RA, Single Family Residential District. Pat Ebertz, applicant. Melanie Ebertz was present. She explained the request is to replace an existing porch that is currently "falling off' the house. The plans are to extend the addition four feet beyond the existing structure. Ms. Ebertz stated the proposed addition would make the house look more like it originally looked. She noted the lot in question is a double lot and the addition would be 66 feet from the back property line. This is a corner lot, requiring setbacks from both North First Street and Hazel Street. Mr. Turnquist moved to approve the two street setback variances with the conditions of approval. Mr. Teske seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Case No. SUP/V/05-04 A variance to the parking regulations (17 spaces required, 9 spaces provided) and a special use permit for a restaurant (Cesare's) at 610 N. Main St. in the CBD, Central Business District. Richard Lay, applicant. is 2 CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 The applicant was present. Mr. Peroceschi questioned why there was no provision for parking. Mr. Russell explained that this building is part of the overall Terra Springs Planned Unit Development. There is adequate parking in the development, Mr. Russell stated, just not convenient to this space. Mr. Russell pointed out there is a City parking lot just across Main Street, and he suggested that many nearby residents would be walking to do business. Mr. Russell also pointed out Terra Springs is a mixed-use development and it was intended to have commercial use in this space. Mr. Junker asked if the parking requirement was accurate. Mr. Lay stated theirs would be primarily retail use, with a small bar space; some outdoor seating also is planned. Linda Amrein, 307 E. Laurel St., expressed a concern about the provision of handicap parking. Again, Mr. Russell noted this is a planned unit development and there are adequate handicap parking spaces in the development, but not in close proximity to this use. Mr. Russell suggested the possibility of designating a handicap parking space on Main Street. Ms. Amrein said she was in favor of the commercial use, but asked the Commission to be sensitive to the issue. Mr. Dahlquist noted office use is proposed for the second floor of this building and asked if there would be another request for a parking variance for that use. Mr. Russell noted that tenant is already in the building . Mr. Dahlquist asked if the vision of the PUD was for retail/commercial space to be a "downtown storefront." Mr. Junker agreed that was the intent in planning for retail/commercial use and also noted there is a 100-space public parking lot across the street. Mr. Teske moved approval as conditioned. Mr. Wald seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Case No. SUPN/05-05 A special use permit for drive-through banking and a variance to the sign ordinance (one sign allowed, three signs requested) for Lake Elmo Bank at 1903 S. Greeley St. in the BP-C, Business Park Commercial District. MSP Commercial, Alex Young, applicant. Present were Dick Zehring and Alex Young, both of MSP Commercial, and Dan Raleigh, president of Lake Elmo Bank. Mr. Zehring addressed the Commission. He said the proposal eliminates the vacant portions of the existing building. He said they are working with the remainder of the existing tenants. The intent is to provide a high quality building. He stated the request for for a special use permit for three drive-thru lanes and an ATM lane and a variance to the sign ordinance. Most of the discussion centered on the request for the sign variance. Mr. Zehring pointed out the new bank building will house three different business functions. He said the existing monument 0 CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 sign likely will be removed. According to the Ordinance, based on square footage, a wall sign of up to 110 square feet is allowed. Their request is for two wall signs that would be within the allowable square footage. One sign would face Greeley Street and another Highway 36; no signage would be visible from the residential area to the east, he said. The proposed pylon sign would be constructed of the same material as the building; the reader board portion of the sign would indicate time and temperature only. Mr. Zehring suggested that a new bank entering the Stillwater market could be considered a hardship for allowing a variance. He also noted their proposal would be an improvement to the site and remove signage of tenants that haven't occupied the existing building for many years. Mr. Junker asked about lighting of the signs. Mr. Young explained that the signage would be internally lit individual letters. Mr. Junker expressed a concern about the lighting of individual letters in the signs. Mr. Raleigh said the proposed signage is similar to that of the new Edina Realty sign, and Mr. Young noted that the lighting is confined to the individual letters only. Mr. Gag raised the issue of the number of requested signs. Mr. Dahlquist asked if street frontage plays a role in determining the number of allowable signs. Mr. Russell responded in the affirmative and noted that the proposed bank building has one street frontage only - Greeley Street. Mr. Teske, seconded by Mr. Dahlquist, moved approval of the requested special use permit for the drive-thru lanes. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Carlsen said he liked the proposed wall signs. Mr. Dahlquist stated he would be more comfortable with a monument sign versus a pylon sign. Mr. Turnquist and Mr. Peroceschi both indicated they would be in favor of allowing the three sign as requested. Mr. Turnquist, seconded by Mr. Peroceschi, moved to allow the variance for the three requested signs. Mr. Junker pointed out that the Commission has turned down many sign variance requests and spoke in favor to being consistent. Mr. Teske said he would be more inclined to vote for two signs. Motion to allow the three signs as proposed failed 3-5, with Mr. Turnquist, Mr. Peroceschi and Mr. Gag voting in favor. Case No. SUP/05-06 A special use permit for construction of a three-story, 34' high, single- family residence at 239 E. Nelson St. in the CBD, Central Business District. 402 Main Street, LLC, applicant. Representing the applicant were Will Bremer and Norm Campbell. Plans were provided for the Commission to review. Mr. Turnquist asked about the stability of the building. Mr. Bremer said the structure is sound, although a lot of tuck-pointing will be required. The stone will match the other building on the site. The first level of the building will be a garage of about 650' square feet; the living space will include 750' on each floor. • 4 CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 Mr. Carlsen asked what was going on around the building, suggesting it seemed isolated. Mr. Bremer said the building ties into the condos and the main building structure on Main Street. There also will be a city park nearby. Mr. Junker asked about the height of the building. Mr. Bremer stated the building will be 34' at its highest point. Due to the slope of the land, the building will be about 20' high on the west and south elevations, he said. Mr. Turnquist moved approval as conditioned. Mr. Carlsen seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Review of plans for Phase III Annexation Mr. Russell introduced the discussion. He noted that the City's Comprehensive Plan Amendment provided for phased growth through 2015. Phase I was the Liberty/Legends developments, which are nearing completion. Phase 2 was the Settlers Glen development, which was annexed to the City in 2000. Phase 3 is the Palmer property, which abuts Highways 15 and 96, west of Neal. He noted the Phase 3 site includes two special environmental resources - South Twin Lake and Brown's Creek. The land use plan in the Comprehensive Plan provides for attached single-family units, large lot single-family and small lot single-family dwellings. Mr. Russell noted the Phase III property is not in the City at this time. Representing developers US Homes/Orrin Thompson were Jay Liberacki vice president of both divisions; architect Teresa St. Amant; and Bob Swanick, senior vice president of sales. Mr. Liberacki reviewed a development booklet; several copies of the booklet were made available to members of the audience. The development will be a Traditional Neighborhood Design development. Mr. Liberacki touched on the topography of the site. He noted developers are working with the two watersheds, Carnelian Marine and Brown's Creek, both of which have issues with the site. He reviewed the evolvement of the site which has seen the park and other amenities migrate from the interior of the site as first proposed to the perimeter of the site, thus preserving the natural environment of the lakeshore and Brown's Creek. He noted that, with very few exceptions, the new homes will be more than 500' from existing homes. He stated City concerns regarding traffic on Neal Avenue helped orient the site to Highway 96/Dellwood Road. He also touched on the phasing plan, the first phase of which will be townhomes. Ms. St. Amant reviewed the proposed housing products. Mr. Gag opened the meeting to public comment. After all comments were received, Mr. Liberacki was allowed to respond. 5 CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 The resident of 8790 Neal Avenue expressed a concern about the view from across South Twin Lake. She asked if there would be some kind of buffer to protect their view. Mr. Liberacki said there would be plantings, but acknowledged that these would be new plantings, not 50-year-old trees. Wallace Raleigh, 12480 McKusick Road, asked whether the City planned to take over Neal Avenue to Highway 96 and about County plans for improvements for Manning Avenue, speaking of the difficult of current access to Manning. He also asked about plans to protect the Brown's Creek environment given a walking trail along the Creek. Carolyn Phelps, 12670 McKusick Road, expressed a concern about impacts on local schools; traffic; and the proximity of the Creek to the walking trail, which might lead to damage to the Creek. She also expressed a concern about the number of housing units and the construction noise and dust neighboring residents have had to put up with during Settlers Glen construction and now this development. Regarding the trail and Brown's Creek, Mr. Liberacki noted the trail would be a low-impact trail, such as mowed grass, rather than in improved asphalt trail. He reiterated they are working with the two watershed districts to protect the resources. He also stated they have been in contact with the school district regarding development plans. • Suzanne Block, 1800 Heifort Avenue expressed a concern about the possible early annexation of Phase 4 properties resulting in increased traffic on Neal Avenue. She also spoke of a concern regarding the width of streets and closeness of homes in the Legends development and the design of the townhomes at Settlers Glen. Mr. Russell responded that Phase 4 properties can be annexed early only if the property owner petitions and the City approves the petition; no decision on any early annexation request has been made at this time. Regarding street width, he said streets will be 28' wide. David Stone, 12850 McKusick Road, spoke of the uniqueness of the site and the potential impact of disruptions to the site. Ken Heifort, 8911 Neal Ave. N., noted the developers have an easement to the Palmer property off Neal and asked whether an entrance or exit is planned for that easement. Mr. Liberacki said that is an issue that is still being worked on. Mr. Heifort also questioned the advisability of taking sewer lines past a federally-designated creek. There also was a question about the purchase of an existing home at the corner of the Phase 3 property and possible development plans. Mr. Liberacki stated that home has been purchased, but by another developer. CITY OF STILLWATER PLANNING COMMISSION February 14, 2005 Mr. Russell raised the issue of use of South Twin Lake. Orville Johnson, 8820 Neal Avenue, said he would be in favor of restricting use to non-motorized craft. Other members of the audience expressed agreement with that idea. There was a question about public access. Mr. Liberacki said the entire west side of the lake would be designated public access. Discussion was brought back to the Commission. Mr. Gag expressed a concern about the preponderance of attached housing, nearly 50 percent of the development. Mr. Liberacki stated 294 units are proposed, well within the maximum density allowed. Mr. Liberacki also referred to the amount of open space that is provided. Mr. Teske expressed a concern that the attached housing is clustered in one space, with no connection to the rest of the development and without the same amenities. Mr. Liberacki noted that of the 294 lots, only 15 units do not have direct access to an amenity. Mr. Junker also expressed a concern that attached housing is clustered on the highest part of the parcel and will be the first thing one sees driving down Highway 96. Mr. Teske also expressed a concern about the compatibility of the contrasting styles of the two attached home products; he stated he also would like to see the rear elevations of those products. Mr. Swanick said those answers could best be addressed by providing building elevations at a future meeting. i Mr. Gag also asked that information regarding how the proposal matches up with the Comprehensive Plan and how forced setbacks impact plans be made available for the next meeting. Mr. Junker, seconded by Mr. Peroceschi, moved to adjourn at 10:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary ?J 7